Music Review – All Strings & Joints

This is one of the more interesting discs I have received here at SAL over the last couple of years. Just for the fact that the All Strings & Joints NEVER elect to stand still.Adding to the diversity of this disc is the fact that The Long EP spans different eras of the band…between June of 2003 and September of 2007 to be exact. That speaks to the diversity but it also speaks to the lack of cohesion at points as well. The catchy term of folktronica certainly comes to mind when listening to All Strings & Joints. With the addition of spoken word and vocal samples, opening track “A Walk On A Sunny Trail In Rural Pennsylvania” sounds like The Books. “We’re In The Distance” echoes the the wandering spirit of Modest Mouse. The Long EP loses a bit of focus after that though. Several tracks are seemingly just various noises and bleeps thrown together. It is experimental but to what end? The band is able to recover with the last three tracks which show some semblance of cohesion. On the somber seven-minute “Quite The Memory,” the guitar rambles on with soft vocals overhead before slowly building into a Calexico Mexican style jam. It might just be the band’s finest work here. “Glass Eyes” blazes a similar path but the results are less memorable. The nine minute “The Hard Luck Carpenter” continues the Ennio Morricone worship and closes out The Long EP on a positive note despite its verboseness. All Strings & Joints are throwing a bunch of stuff against the wall and no doubt a great deal sticks. The band is inventive in their compositions and if they can put more focus on their songwriting they have the potential for greatness. I am eager to see which way the band goes from here. If The Long EP is any indication, All Strings & Joints are open to just about anything.